|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
EAGLE HARBOR ’Äì About 1,550 acres on Mt. Baldy, also known as Mt. Lookout, near Eagle Harbor, will soon belong to The Nature Conservancy (TNC), allowing the organization to protect its number-one conservation priority on the north shore of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The top of Mt. Baldy is home to a northern bald community of rare plants and is considered the best example of such a community in the State of Michigan. Visitors to the Open House held at the Lake Breeze Resort Hotel in Eagle Harbor on August 11 learned about the proposed purchase from two Upper Peninsula representatives of TNC’Äôs Michigan Chapter ’Äì Jeff Knoop, TNC director of land protection for the Upper Peninsula, and Nicole Pearce, TNC Western Upper Peninsula outreach and stewardship coordinator.
Knoop said the purchase will include two parcels ’Äì 911 acres owned by International Paper/Lake Superior Land Co. and 640 adjacent acres from a second owner. ’ÄúWe’Äôre going to close on the 911 acres from Lake Superior Land Co. this week,’Äù Knoop said on Monday, August 13. ’ÄúThat (parcel) contains a portion of the Mt. Baldy ridge, wetland areas at the west end of Lake Bailey and frontage on Lake Bailey.’Äù He said the purchase of the 640-acre (La Plante) parcel adjacent to the IP/LSLC property will take a little longer to finalize. This is the open area with the rare plant community. ’ÄúIt’Äôs definitely going to happen,’Äù Knoop said. ’ÄúIt may take two or three months.’Äù
The top 20 to 30 acres on Mt. Baldy, he noted, are treeless, with bedrock near the surface, not much soil and cold winter winds. ’ÄúIt’Äôs too austere a climate for trees to get established, but these other northern species (wildflowers and rare plants) are used to that condition, so they’Äôve been able to establish themselves there.’Äù Knoop noted that similar conditions occur on the top of Brockway Mountain near Copper Harbor, but that area has been heavily disturbed because of the road. What makes Mt. Baldy the best example of this type of plant community is that it is undisturbed, he explained. The area of the proposed land purchase is also partly wooded.
’ÄúThe bulk of what we’Äôre getting there is woodland, including nesting areas for a number of bird species as well as habitat for other wildlife,’Äù Knoop said. A site analysis of Mt. Lookout, prepared by Judith D. Soule, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, describes the area as follows: ’ÄúThis bald-topped mountain drops in a precipitous 230 feet (70 m) cliff along the south face, and more gently, in forested slopes northward to the shores of Lake Bailey. From the top, 730 ft. (222 m) above Lake Superior, after a two-hour hike the visitor finds spectacular panoramic views of Lake Superior and the Peninsula. At the highest elevations wind clearly has shaped the vegetation; the mount top is a ’Äúnorthern bald’Äù community, open vegetation that includes disjunct western species and wind-contorted shrubby cedar (Thuja Occidentalis). Downslope, stunted oak forest begins, and further down the vegetation is hardwood forest.’Äù Soule’Äôs report also notes that Mt. Lookout ranks high in biodiversity significance because of its northern bald community: ’ÄúThe global rarity of this natural community type has not been determined, but in Michigan it is one of the rarest types ’Ķ Mt. Lookout is the only occurrence of this natural community recorded in the MNFI (Michigan Natural Features Inventory) database. Other similar ridge-tops in the Keweeenaw all have signs of previous forestation, such as stumps and charcoal, and require further study to determine proper classification and quality ranks. Thus, this may be the only site with natural alpine-like vegetation in Michigan. Four species of state threatened plants, and three special concern plants occur in the northern bald community.’Äù Concerning the area’Äôs need for protection, the report notes that a 1981 surveyor indicated the summit was suffering from excess foot traffic. It adds that hikers have apparently dislodged boulders along the cliff edge.
Knoop said TNC’Äôs goal would be to keep people on one trail in order to protect the rare plants. Some of these are dry non-acidic cliff community, northern whitlow grass, clematis, rose sedge, cliff break and northern bald community. He said preservation would not prevent low-impact public access, such as the race that is part of the annual Keweenaw Trail Running Festival.
Race Organizer Jeff Crumbaugh of Hancock said the trail runners stay on the trail and do not impact the rare plants. He had a positive reaction to TNC’Äôs plans to protect Mt. Baldy. "The views from the summit of Mt. Lookout are sublime, the best in the Keweenaw,’Äù Crumbaugh said. ’ÄúYou can see the whole range of Keweenaw summits in one remarkable panorama: Brockway Mountain, East Bluff, Mt. Houghton, Mt. Bohemia, the Gratiot Mt. ridge, and Mt. Horace Greeley. The trail to the summit provides the course for our much loved Hill Climb, an event in the nationally recognized Keweenaw Trail Running Festival. It is the main reason why Runner's World Magazine names this trail running festival one of the top five events worth traveling to."
Keweenaw County Commissioner Don Keith of Eagle Harbor said he was happy to hear of TNC’Äôs plans for purchasing land on Mt. Baldy. ’ÄúI’Äôm extremely pleased because the alternative (industrial residential development) would have been unacceptable for my community,’Äù Keith said. He noted TNC’Äôs purchase of the area would increase the value of property in the immediate vicinity because it would mean the Eagle Harbor area offers nature preserves on both sides and Lake Superior on the other side. (Eagle Harbor recently acquired a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant for purchasing 169 acres for recreation, public access and preservation of natural features.)
At the August 13 Eagle Harbor Township Board meeting, Jim Boggio, outgoing supervisor, said he had talked to TNC representatives and learned that they had not discussed the purchase with the township board because of the negotiations with IP/LSLC. He added that TNC wanted to form a group that would give them guidance as to what local residents wanted for Mt. Baldy. ’ÄúThey asked people to sign up to be on a committee,’Äù Boggio said. Boggio also noted TNC is in need of money and welcomes donations toward the purchase. ’ÄúMy recommendation here is that this board have these people come down and meet with this board,’Äù Boggio said. ’ÄúI need to have some questions answered. If they own it, it’Äôs my understanding that a private group ’Äì because we just read about it ’Ķ can sell off part of this.’Äù Boggio contrasted this situation with that of land purchased through the DNR Trust Fund, which cannot be sold. He said he was also concerned by TNC’Äôs use of the term ’Äúnon-consumptive recreational activities’Äù on their Michigan Chapter Web site and wondered if that meant you couldn’Äôt pick blueberries. ’ÄúI have some questions. That’Äôs all,’Äù Boggio said. ’ÄúI’Äôm all for preserving that mountain. I’Äôve been up there a million times. I need to have some questions answered myself.’Äù To the question of whether TNC’Äôs purchase would take the land off the tax rolls, Boggio explained the conservancy, while not required to pay taxes, sometimes makes a payment in lieu of taxes if they believe it would cause the local community hardship to lose the taxes (as in the case of TNC’Äôs preserve at Horseshoe Harbor, for which they have donated such payments to Grant Township).
Township Treasurer Ann Johnson noted the land is presently in CFR and not bringing in much tax money and she wondered if TNC would take it out of CFR. Other questions were raised about motorized vehicles, including snowmobiles and ATVs. Doug Sherk, chair of the Eagle Harbor Township Planning Advisory Committee, pointed out that, technically, motorized vehicles are not allowed on CFR land and some areas have been bermed or blocked off to prevent their access because of misuse. ’ÄúIn favor of The Nature Conservancy there would be some access,’Äù Sherk said, ’Äúbut ’Ķ this is the concern ’Äì if it’Äôs sold to a private property, then all access may be blocked.’Äù Actually, according to Knoop, snowmobiles might be allowed because the snow layer prevents them from doing too much damage; however ATVs, or four-wheelers, can cause serious damage to rare plants. ’ÄúThe problem with ATVs is that there’Äôs nothing to protect the soil, and rare plants may be very disturbed by that sort of use,’Äù Knoop said. Marcia Rayley, owner of the Lake Breeze, who held the Open House on August 11 for TNC’Äôs presentation, encouraged residents and board members to read about The Nature Conservancy, which is an international organization dedicated to preservation of land for biodiversity protection. ’ÄúIt’Äôs a very scientifically based program,’Äù Rayley said. ’ÄúThey do a lot of buying and selling of other pieces of land that aren’Äôt particularly bio-diverse (so they can buy and protect lands that are really special).’Äù Tina Hall, TNC Upper Peninsula conservation director, said the area the conservancy is purchasing as a buffer to Mt. Baldy’Äôs rare plant community ’Äì the 911 acres from IP/LSLC ’Äì could be sold in the future, but with restrictions that would also allow access. ’ÄúWe need to see how the fundraising goes,’Äù Hall said. Added Knoop, ’ÄúWe are definitely keeping the 640 acre La Plante tract (That's the top of Mt Baldy and the rare northern Bald community and rare species). The LSLC parcel is buffer land that may or may not be sold to a 'conservation buyer,' i.e., we sell and retain a conservation easement.’Äù Knoop and Pearce gave their presentation twice at the Lake Breeze Open House, to accommodate the large number of visitors. Pearce showed slides of TNC’Äôs work in Keweenaw County, and displayed maps of Mt. Baldy to illustrate TNC’Äôs plans. Knoop said he felt the people who attended were positive about the Mt. Baldy project. ’ÄúWe are going to have future public meetings to get input from local people on management and what they’Äôd like to see as far as public access,’Äù Knoop said. The Michigan Chapter of TNC recently published a newsletter that focuses on the Upper Peninsula. The lead article cites Tina Hall as saying one misconception about TNC that she often faces is ’Äú'that we’Äôre trying to buy everything in the U.P.'’Äù Hall explains in the article that TNC uses other strategies for protection besides land acquisition ’Äì such as working with partners, accepting conservation easements or working with existing landowners on how they manage their land. Hall also notes in the article that almost all TNC’Äôs U.P. sites are open to public access, although some long or remote trails may require a volunteer or staff to ensure visitors’Äô safety. Hunting is also allowed on some preserves. TNC gives written permission to a limited number of hunters who agree to follow rules that protect the land. The article also notes TNC hopes to increase staff in the U.P. to develop better visitor resources, including preserves with trails, boardwalks and interpretive signs ’Äú`so you can take your grandkids there and show them what the U.P. looked like 100, 500 or 1,000 years ago.’Äô’Äù For more information about TNC’Äôs Keweenaw
projects, call Nicole
Pearce at (906)
296-9063.
’Äì
Michele Anderson |
